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Reviewsby Michou Landon, unless otherwise notedReview PolicyMt. Shasta Magazine does not do reviews in-house. If you have a book, CD, DVD or product you would like us to review, you should send two copies. The first is to our editor, who has final approval on all reviews, at Mt Shasta Magazine, POB 1289, Mt. Shasta, CA 96067. The second goes to our reviewer, Michou Landon, PO Box 20391, Boulder, CO 80308-3391. With reviews only, preference is given to advertisers. Those wanting to reprint a review in another publication should contact our editor for approval. There is a small fee involved.
Divination DecksDivination Deck Title: The Insight Story Card Set This card set is subtitled "Everyday Symbol Cards for Personal Exploration." That pretty much sums it up. And it speaks to how the simple, every-day and elemental contain a universe of meaning, guidance and resources when we give them our full presence, openness, and respect. Nothing about this card set is flashy or conspicuously mystical, yet it is this quality of the comfortable, familiar and unpretentious about them that gives them the power to empower us. We are not tempted to unduly project our authority onto them. They present a friendly invitation to collaboration as equal partners with the Mystery. The cards themselves are the size of standard playing cards and come in a velvety drawstring pouch, making them readily portable. The illustrations are color pencil or pastel images — again, friendly and somewhat simple (yet plenty lush where need be) — which, in most cases, quite commendably distill and convey the spirit of the symbols portrayed. The deck consists of 90 images, sampling from a range of symbolic creatures, archetypes, elements and objects that invoke fundamental forces in human existence. Some of the symbols occur in many divining decks, others are new here and insightful additions. For example, in the "People" category, along with the more predictable "Maiden," "Wizard," and "Healer," is found the "Athlete." Symbols in the "Food" category include "Cake," "Egg," "Bread," "Honeycomb," "Pomegranate," and "Chocolate." The choices serve to intrigue, amuse and inspire. The creators do not evade the fertile dark either; all images can carry light and shadow, but each category also contains a challenging card. For instance, the Love category contains not only "Chalice," "Ring," "Mirror," and "Candle," but also "Parched." The guidebook starts off powerfully with a foreword by Michael Meade (an essay reprinted from his recent book The World Behind the World...), which lends focus, depth and credibility to the project and to the modest expository entries for each card symbol. These entries are designed to give the user plenty of room for personal interpretation while providing conceptual focus where helpful. The more practiced a reader is with the process of using similar divining tools, the more immediately effective this deck will likely be. However, unfettered as it is by the esoteric weight of decks like the Tarot, this card set will also be very accessible even to the uninitiated beginner. That is one of its many quiet strengths. The images of this deck collectively create a sacred gathering place for one's allies, resources, and intuition, a place to reclaim and focus the knowing that, though sometimes scattered, is never lost. NEW TAROT DECKS: At least five new Tarot decks emerge this season from Schiffer Books, appealing to a range of aesthetic tastes from the more earthy and rustic to the more modern and high tech. Several months after The Transparent Tarot was introduced, comes an additional, intriguing set of cards called The Transparent Oracle, designed for use alone or in conjunction with The Transparent Tarot. Both card sets feature simple yet evocative images — line drawings highlighted with muted pencil-texture colors — on a medium of transparent plastic cards. So they may not only be used in traditional spreads but in overlapping configurations, in which the images on the cards interact with one another in ways that can fruitfully stimulate the subconscious. The Transparent Tarot Cards remained the standard rectangular shape. However, The Transparent Oracle cards are circular, which frees one's imagination even further from linear constraints. These lend themselves to divination by minds and hearts not particularly knowledgeable in standard Tarot or any established system, and they may appeal especially to folks with Jungian, astrological or shamanic affinities. The Transparent Oracle comes in a flat chest-style box containing the cards, a sizable expository booklet and a white cloth on which to perform spreads (to assure minimal interference from the work surface). Both Transparent decks quite nicely invoke the sacred, while feeling unmired in the weight of tradition. Also encased in a similar box is Twilight Realm: A Tarot of Faery. Beth Wilder's lush pastel-on-black drawings are deep and tasty; and they draw you in with an emotionality that is downplayed in the previously-described deck. This may appeal more to traditional tastes, but it is not without its subversive charms — necessarily for an oracle form the world of Faery! Explanations for each card, as well as reversed meaning, are relatively simple, each about a full page in the guidebook. A third card set in that style of box has been carefully created by Richard and Jennifer Shadowfox. These images are a strange, washed out black-and-white computer animation, as if grayscale photographs were over-exposed. This definitely gives them a simple, impressionistic style all their own. There is an appeal to them, a subtle elegance, but for me they provoked a sort of eye-strain for the heart! One very nice feature to this offering is the wealth of ancillary material in the guidebook to supplement basic Tarot symbology. There are sections in the back with color, herb and fragrance correspondences; and in each card's explanation are listed correspondences including alchemical symbol, animal energy, musical moods, astrological associations, blood type, and many moreŅImpressive! Offered to us in smaller packages but comparable charm are two other decks: Silver Era and Otherworld Tarot. The Silver Era set features striking, classical images that hearken to the early days of photography, with their posed composition and contrasty black and white. Each image features an object or swathe illumined by a single color. Some of the images are quite effective as evocative art, yet many seem static and contrived, rather like the theatrical sets of early motion pictures. This deck seems more about the art than the divination, as the guidebook is brief and simplistic. The final deck, Otherworld Tarot, has kineticity (whether it is a word or not!) and color! Hosanna! After all those black and white cards, it is a favorable selling point, as this reviewer's eyes drank in the nourishment of rich hues. The pictures are more traditional in symbolic content and style of portraiture; Sarah Nowell's artwork has a rudimentary, childlike or cartoonish feel, generally less refined and more earthy than other images. There are amusing touches to be found by each individual; I cracked a smile upon seeing that the figure on the Death card was female, reminding me distinctly of Tammy Wynette! Here again, the guidebook entries seem an afterthought, simplistic and succinct. In summary, for the Tarot aficionados among us, there is much to explore here. Older Reviews Listed Alphabetically Title: The Anubis Oracle This is obviously a labor of love. The Anubis Oracle is a 35-card divination deck with an accompanying book that itself serves as a very good, concise overview of the Egyptian pantheon — the Neteru. Author Nikki Scully is a well-known authority on Egyptian Mysteries and a sacred site guide; Linda Star Wolf is also an established lecturer on Shamanic Mysteries. The two previously co-authored the more comprehensive Shamanic Mysteries of Egypt, for which The Anubis Oracle can serve as a companion tool. For the most part, Kris Waldherr's colorful illustrations depicting each deity feel rich, evocative and seem simply complete, not at all cluttered; this respect for space allows the mystery to speak an eternal language, across the ages, to one's inner shaman., even if one's exposure to Egyptian mysteries and deities is heretofore limited. The style honors what we recognize as Egyptian style, yet something in the sureness and simplicity recalled to me certain Native American mythic art of the South West. It speaks well of the images that my only lament might be that I wished the cards were a little bigger, to better savor their beauty, detail, and wise company. The book begins with an effective introduction to the Neteru, as well as the themes and messages each card may hold in a spread. The set actually includes 22 neteru, four elemental cards, a Key card, and eight composite cards, combining deities and energies to invoke an over arching theme or common tension in human experience. The final sections in the book instruct in the use of eight distinct card spreads. This is powerful and pleasing offering, recommended for anyone with penchant for or curiosity about the general topic or quality divination card sets. TWO TITLES: The Transparent Tarot A couple of Tarot decks arrived at the door within days of each other, striking quite a contrast to one another. Tarot isn't my strong suit, if you'll pardon the pun; but it is a powerful tool in the hands of a seasoned reader; and, if the deck is thoughfully assembled and infused, even an open novice can find herself in a profound meeting with the wise, deep Self. First to arrive was the Transparent Tarot, an elegant and modern set, which includes an eloquent guide book, the cards themselves, and a cloth in which to store and display them. The cards themselves are ingeniously designed to add a whole new dimension to their divination potential. They are made of sturdy transparent plastic; and the illustrations are simple and understated, so that when the cards are stacked or overlapped, the features of each card interact in ways that evoke whole new layers of interpretation. It allows the themes or cards with generally stable meanings and inhabiting traditionally prescribed positions to more readily influence and illuminate one another. The experience is creative and absorbing; and the creators of the deck encourage experimentation, such as adding cards to traditional spreads, or simply allowing the cards to dictate their own unfolding story in an alchemy with the querent's psyche. The inclusion of the white cloth (on which to spread the cards) promotes the clarity of the images, and not only supports the simple elegance of the deck, but enhances the sacred and sensual dimension of the experience, and reflects the thoughtfulness invested in the entire deck by its creators. The set conveys a delicacy and sobriety, a reverence, but the attitude of the accompanying text, as well as the simple, almost stick-figure drawings, also convey a freedom and flexibilty. In contrast, the Pirate Tarot has a considerably less substantial “sacred” feel, seeming to beg not to be taken seralmost discouraging sobriety, rather like a Halloween costume. This even though the cards were originally devised as wood engravings — and a wooden set actually is available, I gather — but the glossy card deck has a jaunty, comic-book quality. The illustrations have a definite charm and style, certainly; and the wood-themed appearance has appeal. Yet, here, any hallowed Tarot shares the stage with a pragmatic, irreverent and swaggering gypsy milieu, in which the cards are presented as much as a light diversion of this world as an esoteric and austere oracle of another. The game of Tarot is what is emphasized here, perhaps, rather than the Game of Life. The instructions enclosed are rather poorly written and presented on a single sheet of glossy paper, folded in 12 panels; and include only the sketchiest insights into the meanings of the individual cards. As much space is devoted to the games that can be (and historically have been) played with the deck. I'd say that this might make a good, versatile starter deck for a youngster, except that this adult couldn't makes sense of the instructions for the game! Both decks are enjoyable to peruse and to see how the Major Arcana are represented with the very different themes and intentions. Observing one's response to each illustration can alone make for a rich and heady reading.
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